Nam Hai Village Communal House Festival, Nam Hai Hamlet, Xuan Mai Commune, Hanoi City.

Nam Village Communal House
Hai was recognized by Ha Tay Province as a city-level historical relic under Decision
No. 2005/QĐ-UBND dated July 3, 2008. Under the reign of King Hung, the Thuc army launched a
war; Son Thanh and the generals joined forces to attack and rout the enemy. Son Thanh
then issued a proclamation for the generals to assemble fully at court and confer titles on the officers and soldiers.
He conferred on Son Thanh the title of Nhac Phu, concurrently a top-grade deity, and conferred on Mr. Hieu the title Quy Minh
Dai Vuong. From then on he returned to his mountain estate, stayed with the people, and encouraged farming
and agriculture, eradicated disasters, and was loved by the people.

Nam Village Communal House
Hai worships Quy Minh Dai Vuong. His birthday is the 6th day of the first lunar month; the customary offerings include buffalo, cattle,
singing and chanting, glutinous rice, and wine,

The death anniversary is
the 6th day of the 11th lunar month; customary offerings include black pig, glutinous rice and wine.

 * Taboos in the festival: chief celebrant: if
the family is in mourning for the four parents, one must wait until the mourning period ends before continuing to serve.  The person selected by the villagers to be Chief Celebrant must
have offerings of a tray of glutinous rice and a pig's head to present to the Saint. If resigning, one must also go and ask the Saint
for permission to step down. From the past until now, local leaders upon taking
office must also go to present themselves to the Saint. Offerings are usually simple and voluntary (an areca nut, a package
of cakes). If one no longer holds the position, one must also perform a ceremony to report to the Saint's house.

* Before the festival: The local government holds a joint meeting
including the Party Secretary, the Village Head, and the heads of departments
and mass organizations. After that, a festival steering committee is established and tasks are assigned to each
member of the steering committee. The meeting takes place at the village communal house or the cultural house
of the village.

* The 14th day of the first lunar month
lunar calendar:

- Morning: The elderly men in the village go to the communal house to perform the ceremony
to clean the worship objects and assemble and wash the palanquin. The elders wipe them three times with water; first with
clean well water, then wipe with ginger water and finally wipe again with wine. After that, the chief ritual officiant and a
number of respected elders in the village dress the village tutelary deity. The elderly women go out to sweep and clean
the communal house.

- Afternoon: the elderly men hold the yet offering ceremony at the communal house, in order
to report to the tutelary deity that the festival will be held the next day.

* The 6th day of the 3rd month
lunar calendar: The festival is held in 1 day.

Palanquin procession. The procession starts from the village communal house.
Before setting off, the palanquin procession team must make the bat cong palanquin turn three times in front of the communal house gate.
At the head of the procession is a flower palanquin carrying a portrait of Uncle Ho, followed by the procession of the eight precious objects, then
the bat cong palanquin. The bat cong palanquin carries a banh, along with offerings of flowers and fruit. The procession
consists of 16 people; it goes from the village communal house, then circles the village and brings the palanquin back to the communal house. Every
person stays at the communal house to receive blessings and attend the feast.

* Afternoon of the 6th
day of the 3rd lunar month: The elders perform the closing ceremony and end the festival.